Breaking but not broken: Raygun dances up a storm as teammates show their love

There has been no shortage of commentary on the now (in)famous performance from Australian Olympic breakdancer Dr Rachael “Raygun” Gunn. But with all the criticism that has ensued, much of the nation has echoed the sentiments of the father of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin, who once said: “The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part.”

While B-girl Raygun failed to score a single point in the inaugural Olympic event, her fellow Australian athletes proved to be less harsh critics as she received a hero’s welcome before the closing ceremony.

The Australian Olympic squad formed a guard of honour around the 36-year-old as she danced to raucous cheers and was then carried through the streets of Paris on rower Angus Widdicombe’s shoulders, where she flaunted her signature kangaroo-paw move.

Raygun bowed out in the initial stages of the breaking tournament after losing all three battles 0-18. She was the only one of 16 entrants who failed to score a single point in their round-robin matches, swept aside by USA rival Logistx, French opponent Syssy and Lithuania’s Nicka, to end the tournament with a total combined score of 0-54.

During a press conference on Sunday, the breaking competition’s head judge, Martin “MGbility” Gilian, said that despite the result, the breaking community was standing behind Raygun.

“Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region,” Gilian said.

How breaking is scored

• The competition consists of battles between two athletes. Each battle is made up of a number of rounds. In each round, one athlete performs first, then the other responds.
• Each round is judged against five criteria: technique, originality, execution, vocabulary – meaning the variety of moves, styles and transitions – and musicality. Musicality refers to how well the breaker weaves together their moves to the beats.
• While the breaker knows the playlist of songs that the DJ selects during the battle, they do not know the exact song they will be dancing to until it blares out of the loudspeakers.

Reuters

“This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo.”

Gilian said the judges made their decisions based on five criteria. He said Raygun’s level was “maybe not as high” as other competitors.

“But again, that doesn’t mean that she did really bad,” he said. “She did her best. She won the Oceania qualifier. Unfortunately for her, the other B-girls were better.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese channelled his inner Pierre de Coubertin when speaking at a press conference on Sunday morning.

Albanese said Raygun followed in the “Australian tradition” of having a go.

“The Olympics is about people participating in sport – that’s a good thing. And Raygun had a crack, good on her, and a big shout-out to her,” he said. “That is in the Australian tradition of people having a go. She’s had a go representing our country, and that’s a good thing.”

Following the social media storm, World DanceSport Federation general secretary Sergey Nifontov said the federation has been in contact with Gunn and Australian Olympic team officials to offer mental health support.

B-girl Raygun went viral after breaking’s introduction to the Games.Credit: Getty Images

“We offered [the] support of our safe-guarding office,” he said. “We are aware about what has happened, especially on social media, and definitely we should put the safety of the athlete, in this case, mental safety in first place.

“She has us as a federation supporting her.”

The Australian Olympic team is due to arrive in Sydney on Wednesday morning. The prime minister will be among those welcoming the athletes home.

“They have given Australians joy, excitement and pride over the last two weeks,” Albanese said.

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